It's a simple idea. Each day, I post a different music video. Sometimes it's a good song with a bad video, sometimes it's a bad song with a good video, sometimes, well, they both may suck. Either way, enjoy!
Sure. It's REALLY a song about drugs... but on a day where I've avoided pretty much ALL media coverage of a Royal Wedding that means absolutely NOTHING to me, I figured I'd give you ONE "Royal" themed song.
So enjoy for today, "Royal Oil" by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
I didn't look at the YouTube comments on this one, but I picked up on what everyone else said instantly.
Isn't this the Killers?
Nope. It's Augustana.
I love Augustana. Their first two major label albums were absolutely STELLAR... and I'm still looking forward to getting my hands on their new, self-titled album (it's in stores now... go check it out.)
I DO like their new single. It's just going to take time to get rid of the Killers comparison in my head.
It's a good day in Philadelphia sports. The Flyers last night clawed back and defeated the Buffalo Sabers to advance to the 2nd Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
In honor of Buffalo going down, I bring you, a Buffalo song. Sort of. I wanted to do "Truly Truly" by Grant Lee Buffalo, but couldn't find a video for it. So I go to option #2... CHEESY LATE 80'S POP!
Neneh Cherry made it up to #3 in 1989 with her song "Buffalo Stance" and made a pretty good career with some big hits in Europe. Oh yeah, and her half-brother, Eagle-Eye? Gave us this hit back in 1998.
Enjoy "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry... and sorry Sabers fans. Maybe next year!
Dredg is a band I got into late, but I'm glad I did. They write and produce some GREAT Alternative music, but music that could still be big hits at radio.
Their first album, "Leitmotif" hit stores in 1998, followed by "El Cielo" in 2002, "Catch Without Arms" in 2005, "The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion" in 2009, and they are preparing for the release of their new album "Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy" on May 3rd. Early reports are that this album is much more poppier sounding than past albums, but that it's still pretty good.
We'll go back to 2005, and the song that REALLY got me into them, here's "Bug Eyes.' A simple video of the band playing in a room and some quick cuts of them looking dead.
It's 1993. Grunge is exploding all over the Alternative Rock world, and holding down the #1 spot on the chart was...uh... Tears For Fears?
Yup. For 3 weeks in 1993, Tears For Fears held down the #1 spot, fending off Soul Asylum, Bjork, Raidohead, New Order and others. This wasn't their only #1 Alt hit either, as they hit #1 in 1989 for one week with "Sowing the Seeds of Love."
How. How was this song NOT a hit? It DID hit #1 in Europe, but here in the United States, it barely made a dent, even though it came out towards the height of Nelly Furtado's "Pop" makeover/career revival. It would have fit perfectly into the singer/songwriter vein of pop music, but alas, in 2008, it was neglected by most radio stations across the country.
So I bring it to you today.
Enjoy James Morrison and Nelly Furtado, with "Broken Strings"
After using Amy Grant on my blog yesterday (sorry...sorry) I need to redeem myself. So let's rock.
Vaeda at one point was the #1 unsigned artist on MySpace. (Remember MySpace kids?) They released their debut album "State of Nature" back in 2006 after releasing several EPs. They found modest success, and had their music featured in television shows and video games. After that, they went on break. In 2009, they announced their indefinite hiatus. They released their sophomore album, "Unsafe at Any Speed" after their hiatus on iTunes.
From 2006's "State of Nature" here is "All For You"
Yes. I know what today is. It's 420. It's International Pot Smokers day. It's the day where Cheetos and Doritos sales go through the roof. I don't partake. Never have, and probably never will. So I'm letting this "holiday" slide by.
Instead, I'm celebrating. In the past 4 months, two of my best friends in the world have had their first kids, both bouncing baby girls. It scares the shit out of me that me and my friends are getting to that age, but it's still a reason to celebrate, nontheless.
So... let's so SUPER FREAKIN' CHEESY!!! It's back to 1991 with Amy Grant, and "Baby Baby!" Get it? Baby? Get it? Ohnevermind.
I think this is one of the few times where I don't use an "OFFICIAL" music video, but it's too good of a video to pass up.
Dashboard Confessional released "Thick as Thieves" in 2007, and opened up a contest to their fans to create a music video for it, with the winner getting $2,500 and some swag. This video was the winner, done in one continuous shot with no CGI, trick camera work, or anything. Enjoy!
After what... 30+ years of music videos, it's sometimes tough to be innovative, but Death Cab for Cutie found a way to make the video for their new song "You Are a Tourist" innovative. Record it live and broadcast it as it's made.
That's right. Last week, they became the first band to ever film and air a scripted music video live as it was filmed. One long continuous shot, one take. If there's mess-ups, there's mess-ups.
It's a shame the Matthew Good Band never got big in the US. They were big in their home country of Canada, and Matthew Good still cranks out some damn good music as a solo artist, but their one real attempt to crossing onto the US scene never picked up.
They formed in the early 90s, but it was their third album, 1999's "Beautiful Midnight" that got some attention in the US, from it's two main singles, "Hello Time Bomb" and "Strange Days." Neither was a huge hit in the US, (rumored to be since Matthew Good himself refused to help promoting the album stateside), and the Matthew Good Band broke up in 2002, with Matthew Good pursuing a successful solo career.
It doesn't happen often that a song absolutely grabs me on first listen. When it does, I usually listen to said song on repeat for a few months.
This song will probably turn into that.
Biffy Clyro is a band from the UK that dates back all the way to 1995. They have released 5 albums, the latest being 2009's "Only Revolutions." They're just starting to break here in the US with the power of their single "Many of Horror." But there IS some controversy with this song. Not in the content or lyrics or anything, but because of Britain's "X-Factor." You know the TV show Simon Cowell dumped American Idol to be on this fall? It's huge in the UK. And last season's winner, Matt Cardle, released his own version of this song as HIS first single. The band didn't like it too much, and told it's fans to buy THEIR version, not his.
The result? Matt's version hit #1. Biffy Clyro's hit #8. Not too shabby. And they get royalties on both versions.
Enjoy "Many of Horror" by Biffy Clyro. And if you're interested, Matt Cardle's version of the song (titled "When We Collide") can be viewed HERE
Yesterday, for absolutely no reason, I suddenly got the song "Spinning" by Jack's Mannequin stuck in my head, and I listened to it on repeat like it was brand new. I don't know why. So I dug up my other favorite Jack's Mannequin song for today.
Jack's Mannequin started out as a side project for Something Corporate frontman Andrew McMahon in 2004, but has seemed to have blossomed into his full-time band. They released "Everything in Transit" in 2005, very shortly after McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He made a full recovery, thankfully, and the band went on to release 2008's "The Glass Passenger." Jack's Mannequin is rumored to have an album coming out this summer, as they are gearing up for a co-headlining tour with Guster.
We'll go back to 2005, and their song "Dark Blue."
Since Warner Brothers records doesn't allow embedding of their videos, you'll have to CLICK HERE to go watch it.
So I once again defeated the "A Day" part of the blog title over the past couple of days, but as my schedule settles back to normal, I get back to it. Today... a great celebrity appearance.
In 1994, Julianna Margulies took on the role of Nurse Hathaway on ER, and took home an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Two years later, a band from the Allentown area of Pennsylvania snagged her to star in their music video. It's pretty impressive when you get an Emmy winner to star in your video.
Right before I started this blog, I had posted this music video on Facebook, saying it came up on my iPod and got stuck in my head. First... it's a stupid guilty pleasure song that I'm still not sure why I like it. Second, the video is pure early 90's cheese. I mean. Just look at it!
Shortly after, I thought, "I should make a music video blog!" So I did. Insightful, no?
Apparently, the video is non-embeddable, according to YouTube. So you'll have to click HERE to go watch it.
I missed putting a video up yesterday, which kind of defeats the idea of "Music Video a Day" no? Either way, this week is going to be hectic, and I'll post a video when I can. Next week will return to normal, but for now.,.. just a quick intro.
The Dresden Dolls formed in Boston in 2000 by Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione. Thy have released two albums, "The Dresden Dolls" in 2003 and "Yes, Virginia" in 2006, along with a few EPs. This song was the first real introduction to the Dresden Dolls for many people. Enjoy "Girl Anachronism" by the Dresden Dolls!
I used to be into the Philly music scene, looking for awesome sounding bands looking for their breakthrough. When I started working full-time far away from Philly, I lost touch with what was in Philly. Then one day, I was watching maybe MTVu or something, and I saw this music video. The song was catchy, but the background shots flashing quickly looked familiar. Because it was shots of Philly.
Valencia formed in Philly in 200e, but didn't breakthrough until 2008, when they released "We All Need a Reason to Believe" on Columbia Records. It featured this catchy song and video. Enjoy "Where Did You Go" by Valencia.
How the hell did I miss posting yesterday? An altered work schedule and other stuff kept me from posting on here, so I'm putting up yesterday's songs today.
The MLB season OFFICIALLY kicked off on Thursday, but here in Philly, it started yesterday, as the Phillies, in true Philadelphia fashion, gave their fans a heart attack until the final inning where they squeaked out a 5-4 victory. In honor of the start of baseball season, I give you... "The Boys of Summer." Both the original by Don Henley and the cover by the Ataris. Take your pick of which you like better. And yeah... the Ataris version is out of sync with the video. That's all I could find online. ::shrug::
